Ford NSW Open

Jay Maakenzie, the winner of the Lismore qualifier for the Ford NSW Open.

Local boy Mackenzie wins in Lismore

JAY Mackenzie claimed the first of six Regional Qualifiers for the 2026 Ford NSW Open following a thrilling final day at Lismore Workers Golf Club.

Mackenzie recorded seven birdies and an eagle in his 9-under-par second round of 60 to finish at 16-under-par in the 36-hole event. He was two shots clear of former Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner Jake McLeod.

The victory was extra special for Mackenzie, who lives nearby in Lennox Head, while brother Daniel made his professional tournament debut at the Lismore qualifier.

 “This is nice having these events leading into the season,” Mackenzie said.

“It’s cool to win in front of people that watch you and follow your results, so that was nice. I had a couple of members from Ballina (Golf Club) come out.” 

Starting round two one shot back of 2018 NSW Open Champion McLeod, Mackenzie made a hat-trick of birdies from the first hole, but two eagles from McLeod, on the first and sixth holes, in addition to two birdies in between, saw the Queenslander two shots ahead through nine holes.

Mackenzie drew closer with a birdie at the 10th, before shooting to the top of the leaderboard courtesy of an eagle at the par-5 14th.

From there his putts continued to find the bottom of the cup, Mackenzie winning by two shots from McLeod, with Alex Simpson a further shot back on 13-under in a share of third with new professional Coby Curruthers, while Queensland’s Douglas Klein was another shot adrift.

“The greens are so good. If you keep hitting good putts, they’re going to go in eventually, and you need a bit of luck to win as well. Sort of went my way today, which was nice.”

Mackenzie, who was already qualified for the Ford NSW Open, was happy to claim the winner’s cheque for almost $9,000. 

Carruthers, Simpson and Lincoln Tighe qualified to play the NSW Open at The Vintage in November.

– Courtesy NSW Golf

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FIRST VICTORY: Coby Carruthers.

Rookie Coby claims his first pro victory

By Michael Court

SERIOUS golfers will tell you Teven golf course on the North Coast of NSW is among the prettiest in the country – and the closest thing to Augusta National’s colourful gardens as you can get.

So, it seemed the appropriate place for a first professional victory for rookie Coby Carruthers.

Although he only turned pro in May, Carruthers has had to be patient to notch that first victory, enduring a string of top-five finishes at various venues before hitting his straps at Teven to outlast a quality field.

Already assured of a spot in the looming NSW Open at The Vintage, thanks to a strong finish at Lismore, Carruthers’ three-under-par second round, for an eight-under total, finished three clear of Louis Dobbelaar.

“It was a fantastic day,” said Carruthers.

“We had a really good group and we’d all just sort of push each other along, but it was just definitely a grind out there, for sure.

“The wind picked up, I reckon the greens were about a 14 on the stimpmetre, and some tricky pin positions called for a lot of good shots.

“I knew a win was coming soon. I just had to be patient, and this week was that week, fortunately.”

Teven has a famous stretched nicknamed The Scorpion and Carruthers knew he would have to survive that to get his name on the trophy.

Heading for the turn, Carruthers approached the par-3 ninth, which had already delivered scores as high as nine and seven, with a two-shot lead, the eventual champion himself jokingly labelling it a “short par-5”.

Striking a perfect iron shot up the steep hill, Carruthers managed to roll in his third birdie of the day as he headed for the back nine three shots clear.

He did give his rivals a brief hope when he bogeyed the 10th but then rallied with six straight pars to virtually seal the deal.

“I feel like I’ve been working the last probably eight months on the nerves,” he said.

“Just getting away from being ‘If a putt goes in, it’s a good putt, but just getting like really speed focussed, rolling it good, because that’s all I can control.

“That’s all we can do as golfers. There’s a lot of stuff that we can’t control, and you just have to know that and be patient.”

Others to leave Teven in good spirits were West Australian Joseph Owen, amateur Samuel Adams and Victoria’s Kyle Michel, who all punched their ticket to contest the NSW Open in November.

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Jordan Doull, the winner of the South West Rocks NSW Open qualifying event.

Doull outduels Hart at South West Rocks qualifier

WA’s Jordan Doull has won the fourth 2026 Ford NSW Open Regional Qualifier at South West Rocks. 

Doull was steady and at times spectacular during his second round of 68, following on from a day one 63, with his 13-under total two shots clear of fast-finishing Tim Hart.

Hart drew level at the top of the leaderboard briefly on Friday, but eventually came up shy, however the Queenslander will return home with a start at the Ford NSW Open secured, alongside fellow qualifiers Jye Halls and Adam Coull.

Doull couldn’t quite continue his birdie barrage from Round 1 early on day two, with the two-time Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia winner netting only one birdie in his first eight holes.

“Got off to a bit of a slow start, was probably a little bit interesting,” Doull said. “I hit it okay, but it was definitely a slow start and wasn’t quite as switched on as I wanted to be.”

Turning the switch with a birdie at the 18th, his ninth hole of the day, Doull headed for the second nine tied for the lead at 10-under with Hart.

“I knew someone would make a charge. You kind of expect it. You don’t know who it’s going to come from. You just kind of roll with it,” Doull said.

Doull continued to strike pure shots only to make pars, most remarkably at the par-5 fourth, where hitting his stinger 2-iron from the tee his drive took one bounce in the middle of the fairway before striking a kangaroo in the hindquarters.

The local marsupial unharmed, however, Doull’s ball stopped dead in its tracks, meaning the 27-year-old was unable to reach the green in two.

“That was a little unfortunate. I would have liked to have been another 30 or 40 (metres) up there. I could have maybe got another 2-iron there, but it was a bit of fun,” Doull said.

Doull then stuck his tee shot close at the par-3 fourth, before making another birdie at the par-4 fifth.

Hart was doing his best to apply pressure with birdies at two of his last three holes, however, Doull made a near-perfect birdie at his 18th to secure the win.

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Chris Wood, set to defend his NSW Open title later in the year, came out on top in the Coffs Harbour qualifying event. 

Woods primed for defence after Coffs qualifying win

By Michael Court

A LITTLE bit of scoreboard watching and a return to an old putter helped secure victory for Chris Wood at Coffs Harbour Golf Club last month.

This North Coast Open Regional Qualifier always draws a star-studded field and Wood showed he was ready to defend his Ford NSW Open title at The Vintage in November with a first-class display in the 36-hole event.

Wood dropped just one shot over the two rounds, finishing at 14-under par to edge out Blake Proverbs and William Bruyeres by two shots.

The Queenslander later admitted a return to an old favourite putter had helped pave the way for his victory.

“I feel quite lucky to be standing here the way I played,” said Wood.

“I didn’t feel like I played that great, but I just managed myself around the course.”

Wood began the second day with a three-shot lead but found that final day was anything but a cruise.

“I don’t think it’s ever easy,” he said.

“I think you just have to focus on what you’ve got to do at the time and that old cliché, one shot at a time, and give 100 per cent effort to every shot.

“I think I did a pretty good job of that.”

Wood also admitted he had checked the scores on his mobile phone a few times late in the round.

“I did that as I was walking to 18th tee box,” he said.

“I had a quick look at the scores and saw that I was one in front.

“And I was lucky enough to see where Will [Bruyeres] tee shot on 18 finished, and I thought that would be a great par if he could do it from there.

“I knew that I had to have a good tee shot and get it on the green and then just at least make two putts to have a chance to win.”

Wood won last year’s NSW Open in a sudden-death playoff . . . and the 35-year-old will relish a return to The Vintage looking to make it back-to-back titles.

Others to leave Coffs Harbour in good spirits included Corey Lamb, Aiden Didone and Justin Warren, who secured starts at The Vintage with their high finishes in an event that boasts names like major champions Kel Nagle and Gary Player on their honour role.